INDIANAPOLIS — In an interview Sunday morning with ABC News, Sen. Mike Braun, R-Indiana, continued to refuse to acknowledge President-elect Joe Biden's win and said the legal processes of the election need to continue playing out.
Braun told George Stephanopoulos on This Week there is a process to go through and is "going to play itself out."
"I think George, what is at play is when you look what was talked about earlier with the secretary of state in Georiga, I think when you talk reflexively dismiss, that maybe nothing has happened at all, versus the other side of the spectrum, systemic fraud, widespread, it's a wide gulf," Braun said. "I think that for places like Indiana where I built my business here in my hometown here today, when I was trying to help weigh in on these Georgia races from right after the election, nobody wanted to talk about even the Georgia races that are so pivotal. They wanted to come back, were uncertain about what happened in the election."
But as Stephanopoulos pointed out to Braun, at least 38 of more than 50 lawsuits brought forward by President Donald Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges.
Several government officials have said there is no evidence of widespread fraud, including Attorney General William Barr, state officials across the country, and Trump administration officials who said the election was "the most secure in American history."
"I think when you just say there's nothing there, you're going to have half of the country uncertain about what just happened and disgruntled in the future," Braun said.
Braun said it's easy and convenient to say the election has been played out before mentioning a now-debunked video of alleged fraud on Georgia.
The video, which was shared on social media by Trump's campaign and others, shows official and sealed ballot containers stored under a table being brought back out.
ABC affiliate WSB-TV in Atlanta reviewed the surveillance video with Georgia election officials.
“No magically-appearing ballots,” Gabriel Sterling with the Georiga Secretary of State’s office told WSB-TV. “These were ballots that were processed in front of the monitors, processed in front of the monitors and placed there in front of the monitors.”
"I just don't think that if you say, if you don't pursue it, overturn every stone, this is going to linger into the future," Braun said. "It's going to be to the disadvantage of whoever is there trying to run the country."
In response to the interview, Drew Anderson, spokesman for the Indiana Democratic Party, released the following statement:
It's unbecoming of a U.S. Senator to show an arrogant disregard to the U.S. Constitution and the pillars of the democracy that makes this nation so great. Mike Braun owes Hoosiers an apology for abusing the fundamental trust we place in all our elected officials. Moreover, the Democrats recommend Senator Braun put politics aside and instead focus on passing another COVID-19 relief package so Hoosier businesses and families can access further protections during these uncertain times. We need action, not some rhetorical political circus, Senator.
.@GStephanopoulos to GOP Sen. Mike Braun: There have been 38 lawsuits by President Trump and his allies that "have been dismissed by judges…the attorney general came back and said there’s no evidence of widespread fraud…why can’t you accept the results?” https://t.co/sJdfK72lYo pic.twitter.com/YjW2zHOqAI
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 6, 2020
